Bellingham,
Washington is a college town located on Bellingham Bay and Puget Sound within an hour north of the Seattle / Everett metropolitan area, within an hour south of Vancouver B.C., within an hour west of Mount Baker and the North Cascades National Park and within an hour east of the San Juan Islands.
Recent accolades include:
- 2nd Place in the "15 Best Places to Reinvent Your Life" according to
AARP Magazine in 2003.
- ”Dream Town” Top 10 perfect places to “live big, play hard and work if you must.”
Outside Magazine, 2001.
- ”50 Most Active Places to Live”
Modern Maturity, 2000.
- Among top cities for Mountain Biking. Mountain Bike
Magazine, 2001.
- One of the Top Cities in the Nation to Live and Retire,
Modern Maturity, 2000.
- Best places for business investment among top small metropolitan areas: 14th place in 2001, 19th place in 2000.
Forbes Magazine.
Acting as the county seat to Whatcom
County, Bellingham's population numbered
more than 67,000 according to Census 2000 data.
Residents enjoy the remarkable recreational
opportunities that abound in Whatcom County. All
the water sports imaginable in a port city are
available here, and the rugged Cascade
Mountains tower just to the east. Bellingham
is fifty miles from Mount
Baker, almost 11,000 feet tall, and has one
of the best ski resorts in Washington
State. State Road 542 leads from the city to
the mountain and is designated as a US Scenic
Byway, following the powerful Nooksack
River as it winds through steep gorges and
dazzling waterfalls. Near the end of the road is
a view of Mount
Shuksan reflecting back into Mirror Lake,
creating one of the area's most photographed
scenes. These ice volcanoes along the glaciated
ridges of the North Cascades lend themselves to
mountain climbing, hiking and hunting through
the jagged landscape. The western portion of
Whatcom County ends in the beautiful Cascade
National Forest and Parklands area.
As well as being located on the coast of Puget
Sound, which offers some of the finest
salt-water fishing around, Bellingham is
bordered by Lake
Samish, as well as Lake
Whatcom, surrounded by miles of hiking
trails. Bellingham received the title of
"Trail Town USA" by the National Park
Service for the astounding amount of hiking and
biking trails through and near the city.
Residents can sea-kayak along the San
Juan Islands or go bird-watching
in one of the fifteen designated bird sighting
areas through Whatcom County. Each year,
Bellingham's diverse and splendid environment is
celebrated with the Ski to Sea Race, an
85-mile race that includes skiing down Mt Baker,
paddling along the Nooksack River, jogging,
biking and ends with sea-kayaking in Bellingham
Bay.
Recreation is not all that Bellingham offers.
Both a cultural and educational center for the
region, five different museums
preserve the seaport's history. The Bellingham
Theatre Guild and the Whatcom
Symphony Orchestra provide top-notch
entertainment.
Bellingham's Squalicum
Harbor remains a bustling and vibrant port.
Close to two thousand pleasure and commercial
boats moor here. The shipbuilding industry and
salmon canneries thrive in Bellingham. From this
port, ferries take passengers on whale-watching
cruises, tours to Vancouver
and the San Juan Islands. Downtown Bellingham is
a shopper's
delight. Antique stores, fine arts and crafts
shops abound, and the city boasts several malls
where the finest retail trade names are found. Dining
opportunities will astound even the most
selective connoisseur. Bellingham chefs have
turned seafood into a culinary art.
Bellingham, Washington is rich in many ways.
Splendid scenery surrounds it on every side,
from the glistening Bay to the towering
mountains. Bellingham is a fine site to locate a
business or build a family, or visit repeatedly
and still not experience it all.
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